BAGHDAD — Iraq moved swiftly Saturday to limit the diplomatic and security fallout after Iran-backed militias were accused of striking a crucial Saudi oil pipeline, forcing the world’s largest oil producer to halt an export route designed to bypass the Iranian-threatened Strait of Hormuz.
An umbrella organization representing Iran-aligned Iraqi militias denied any role. But Baghdad confirmed that the attacks originated inside Iraq, vowed to launch an investigation and removed two senior officials from their posts.
The strike on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline coincided with renewed pressure from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. Roughly 12% of global trade passes through the strategic waterway, which the Houthis have targeted as part of their campaign against neighboring Saudi Arabia and its shipping interests.
Regional officials told The Associated Press that the Houthi movement and Iraqi militias had recently coordinated attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
The escalation raises the prospect of another surge in global oil prices after six months of war. U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was “probably” behind the pipeline attack, while also seeking to ease fears of a wider confrontation.
“The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to fight with us,” Trump said. “They would much prefer not having us involved, and they’re letting most ships go through.” He added that his administration had held “discussions” with the Houthis, though neither Trump nor the White House specified when those contacts took place. The administration held at least one round of talks with the group in May 2025.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected the suggestion that Tehran was engaged in a conflict with Riyadh. “We are not in war with Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis have their own problems,” he told India Today TV while attending the BRICS summit in India.
Iraq to investigate attack on Saudi pipeline
The Iraqi militia coalition again denied responsibility for the Saudi pipeline strikes, even as it praised the Houthis for what it described as their “ongoing battlefield victories against Saudi forces.”
The group said it would cooperate with Baghdad’s investigation.
Iraq is facing intensifying pressure to stop armed groups on its soil from supporting Iranian proxy forces. Baghdad has ordered nonstate armed factions to disarm by Sept. 30, but several of the country’s most influential militias — including Iran-backed groups — have said they will not comply.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said he had ordered an investigation into the operations command of Maysan province, along the border with Iran, and dismissed the province’s commander. His office later said the provincial police chief was also dismissed.
Saudi Arabia shut down the cross-country oil pipeline on Friday, saying it was a “precautionary measure” after the pipeline came under drone attack the day before. It blamed the attacks on several drones that came from Iraq but said the kingdom would not retaliate, to give the Iraqi government “an opportunity to take the necessary measures.”
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Several Arab countries including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt, condemned the attack, according to the Saudi state news agency.
Built in the 1980s, the East-West pipeline has played an important role in Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil following this year’s disruption of the Strait of Hormuz. By early June, Saudi Arabia had more than doubled oil exports from the Red Sea port at the pipeline’s end to more than 5 million barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias have carried out strikes on U.S.-linked targets both inside and outside Iraq since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
Saudi Arabia and the United States bombed Iranian-backed militias in Iraq in July after blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that had been claimed by the Houthis. Regional officials told the AP that the Houthis helped the militias plan and execute the attacks.
Valiollah Hayati, deputy governor of Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province, said Shalamcheh and Chazabeh crossings were closed.
Diplomacy continues in a tense region
Iran has said a regional meeting is planned Monday between Iran and other Gulf countries about talks between Tehran and Oman – located on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz – on managing shipping there.
Commercial ship traffic remains low on what had been considered an international waterway before the war. Iran has expressed interest in having ships pay fees for transit. It has said traffic into the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman would pass entirely through Iranian waters, while the outbound route would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s territorial waters.
“The waterway would be opened up on the condition that the U.S. will terminate its blockade,” Iran’s president said in his interview with the Indian broadcaster.
Bahrain on Saturday, however, said it will not attend any group meeting including Iran before the restoration of diplomatic relations between the countries.
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Jill Lawless and Darlene Superville in Dublin contributed to this report.
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